Luxury weekend break

Keen to escape the city for a few days and recharge your batteries? For Edinburgh residents, the answer is just 45 minutes’ drive south, where a world of tranquil luxury awaits your pleasure. Here are just a few suggestions for a high-end weekend break in the Tweed Valley.

Friday evening

Check in to one of the two sumptuous suites (£120/night for two people) at gorgeous Kingsmuir House, just a few minutes’ walk from the centre of Peebles. Combining classic Victorian features with crisp, modern design, staying here is a real treat.

Another great option is Caddon View Guest House (rates start at £90/night for two people), a lovely Victorian house in Innerleithen which offers the warmest of welcomes. Guests at Caddon View can dine in style without reaching for a coat – evening meals are served here Tuesday to Saturday – while those staying at Kingsmuir House can also dine on-site, or stroll to Peebles High Street and choose from a range of award-winning restaurants. Coltman’s Restaurant, Osso and The Tontine all come highly recommended.

All offer glorious, locally-produced food, not to mention excellent cocktails. In fact, cocktail mixologists at the Tontine are even on hand to teach you how to shake and mix the perfect tipple! Packages start from £20/person.

Saturday

After a ridiculously good breakfast, head for a morning of fly fishing on the Tweed, with expert instruction and guiding from Fish Wild or Tweed fishing instructor, Steve Culbert – the perfect way to make the most of your time on one of Scotland’s most celebrated rivers. Both offer flexible packages, including lunch and travel.

But if waders are not quite your thing, why not choose instead a day of pampering at one of Scotland’s most famous health spas? Nearby Stobo Castle offers every imaginable treatment in the most picturesque of settings. Perhaps begin with a session of aromatherapy, reflexology or an Indian head massage, before making use of the rest of the health spa’s extensive facilities – including a wonderful pool with incredible views.

Suitably rejuvenated, enjoy a delicious three-course lunch before your afternoon treatment, or perhaps even an exercise class before heading back to Peebles. Full-day packages at Stobo (including two treatments and lunch) start at £109 per person. Elsewhere, fabulous spa (and pool) experiences can also be enjoyed at Peebles Hydro Hotel, Mercure Barony Castle by Eddleston and Macdonald Cardrona Hotel, Golf & Spa.

After a quick change and dinner, be sure to check what’s on at the Eastgate Theatre – the Tweed Valley’s centre for arts in all its guises. Highlights over the next couple of months include world-class chamber music presented by Music in Peebles, fabulous live bands, and the continuation of a season of performances from the Royal Opera House and National Theatre Live.

Sunday

Check out of your accommodation in the morning, but before heading home be sure to drop into Dawyck Botanic Gardens or Kailzie Gardens for a stroll around two of Scotland’s most inspiring gardens. Kailzie is also home to some great fishing, pitch and putt, plus the fascinating Osprey Watch – a chance to learn more about a species that is now thriving here in the Tweed Valley (open April to September).

You can then point your car north and head back to the city relaxed and recharged after a very special weekend!